Storm Stories
by Prime627
Summary: It was just another day with Strongarm and Sideswipe fighting, much to Bumblebee's annoyance. But then it started to rain.


Bumblebee could hardly believe his luck. Even though he had done everything he could to keep the team together, Sideswipe _still_ got on Strongarm's last nerve and she would lose it. She had been so mild around him, but Sideswipe could easily make her lose it. Primus forbid they work together.

The only one who was any amount of good was Grimlock, and it was because the mech fancied Bumblebee. He still wasn't too sure how he was to approach that, but he found he didn't really mind that the Dinobot was following him like a fawn. He actually kind of liked it.

But he still needed to deal with the teenagers, and a thought (a cruel one that Optimus would definitely not approve of) came to him.

The teenagers were still fighting. Good, thought Bumblebee as he drew closer to them.

"You know how you can spot a good couple, Grimlock?"

The Dinobot perked up and blinked at him. He grinned, not knowing the answer, but knowing that Bumblebee would tell him.

"Back on Cybertron, you know, if two Cybertronians were fighting, it meant that they liked each other."

That stopped the younger 'bots. They squealed and jumped away from each other as if Bumblebee splashed them with acid. Bumblebee and Grimlock collapsed into a laughing fit (which would also be frowned upon by Optimus) and Strongarm put her servos on her hips.

"That was very cruel," she protested.

Bumblebee looked over at her and opened his mouth. Before he scould speak, however, there was a crash of thunder.

Everyone went berserk.

"WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE!"

"Guys! Calm down! We'll just..." He watched his team run in circles. Grimlock was frantically trying to hide himself under cars, under rocks, under whatever was small enough that he could lift.

Strongarm, the one he had plucked from the Well because she seemed the strongest, was hiding under him like a baby bird under its mother.

Sideswipe was fine until it started raining, then he, too dove under Bumblebee.

The warrior was in for a shock. Grimlock saw where the other two had gone, so he went there, too. Bumblebee groaned. He was seated on Grimlock's helm while Strongarm and Sideswipe tried to hide themselves from the weather.

Bumblebee climbed down from his surprise perch. "Come on, guys. It's just a little rain."

The 'bots looked at him with blue optics that were threatening to spill tears and he remembered his own first storm on Earth. He sighed and he looked out at the forest. There was probably some shelter there, he thought. So he gathered Fix-It, who had also lost his mind, and he led his team into the forest. He tried to engage the others in conversation, but the only answer he got was the clatter of denta. He looked back and saw they were soaked, cold, and shivering.

"Good thing you aren't in the Arctic, or we'd have some serious problems..." He turned back to looking for shelter, and then he found it. "Aha!"

He ran over to a fallen tree.

Sideswipe, through chattering denta, managed to give a comment. "Our l-leader's l-l-lost it!"

But Bumblebee was busy. He righted the fallen tree against a sturdier one, then he went about bending trees and slowly, very slowly, he created a shelter big enough for Grimlock. In doing so, he had covered himself in mud, leaves, another muck that was required to make the shelter as waterproof as possible. As soon as he stepped out of the way, the 'bots were inside. Bumblebee thought they were okay, so he left them to clean up in the river.

When he returned, he expected a purring team. Instead, he found they were staying as far away as possible and they were still shivering.

The storm was getting worse and the shelter wouldn't hold for long. Bumblebee ducked inside. "What are you doing?"

"Tr-trying to get warm!" Sideswipe glared at him.

Bumblebee shook his helm sadly. "Come on, guys..." He pushed Strongarm against Sideswipe. "Work with me on this!" He laid the pair in Grimlock's lap. Fix-It needed no prodding. He was already seated in Strongarm's lap. Then Bumblebee sat beside Grimlock and took Strongarm and Fix-It back. "There, better?"

Grimlock nuzzled Bumblebee. "How did you know this would work?"

"I was on Earth for a long time, Grimlock, you know that. I was caught in a storm once, too, but that was on patrol and I had our team leader with me."

Strongarm perked up. "Optimus?"

"Yeah," Bumblebee said. He smiled at the memory. "Yeah, I was so scared. The sky just opened up with a flash of light and a loud growl and Optimus just looked up at the sky and said 'Bumblebee, look', but I didn't want to look. I was terrified, too terrified to obey my leader. He touched my shoulder and said, 'Bumblebee, it is just rain'."

Strongarm nestled against Bumblebee and he started to feel warm again. Grimlock was staring out at the rain. Sideswipe was watching Bumblebee with interested optics.

"See, not a lot of things scared Optimus. I don't remember seeing him scared. He told me that it would be alright, and I finally calmed down enough that we made a shelter like this." He patted a tree trunk. "He didn't want to harm the trees, so he used his great strength to just tilt them, you know? Just a little bit so that they were leaning, but not uprooted."

He took a breath and he looked at the team again to see how well they were doing. Steam was actually rising. It amused Fix-It as he moved to sit between Grimlock and Bumblebee.

"We stayed in the shelter until the rain went away and Optimus coaxed me out. He touched my helm and pointed to the sky, and I'll never forget what he told me."

Strongarm leaned back, laying her helm on his shoulder. "What did he say?" she whispered.

"He said, 'Bumblebee, there are storms that will scare you, but after every storm, you will see a rainbow'." Bumblebee hesitated. He loved repeating this story. "And then he said 'I have never, in all my life, heard a 'bot scream so loud'."

Strongarm and Sideswipe laughed. Grimlock just grinned and looked over at Bumblebee.

"Thanks for the storm stories," he said. He nuzzled him again and Bumblebee had to push his helm away gently when the nuzzle got a little uncomfortable.

"I'll have to remember some more for when there's another storm."

Strongarm looked at him. "You mean, there'll be more?"

"Well, yeah, Strongarm. This is Earth, after all. Earth is a little weird."

"Good! We'll make this shelter able to withstand any weather and then we can come here all the time and-" Sideswipe broke off and he rubbed his chin thoughtfully as if he never spoke. "And...stuff..."

Bumblebee looked around at the shelter that was slowly falling apart. Then he nodded and leaned against Grimlock. "I guess we could, Sideswipe, but you have to promise to take good care of it _and no graffiti_."

Sideswipe threw up his servos. "Hey, I'm graffiti-free, I swear."

Bumblebee lowered his accusing digit and looked up at Grimlock for a moment. "If not, I'll just have Grimlock here chase you around for a bit to straighten you out."

"Eep."

Bumblebee smiled and he turned his attention outside. The rain was stopping. He helped the team outside, and when he looked up, he saw it.

"You see, guys, there'll be storms, and then there'll be rainbows."

Grimlock saw it first, and when Sideswipe failed to see it (probably due to facing the wrong direction), the Dinobot scooped everyone up and put him on his back (facing the right way).

Bumblebee wrapped his arms around Grimlock's neck and he wondered if there were rainbows where Optimus was.

Strongarm wrapped her arms around her superior officer's hips for support when Grimlock started to walk back to camp. "Do you have any more stories about Optimus?"

Bumblebee nodded. "But I'm saving them for the next storm."

Sideswipe stood up, gripping Strongarm's shoulders so he wouldn't fall. "_Rain! Get back here!_"

Even Grimlock laughed as the red mech sat back down.

"Nice try, Sideswipe."


End file.
